how to make a microsoft account

Summary

Before you are able to utilize the online tools and services provided by Microsoft, in order to take advantage of the online tools and services offered by Microsoft, you will first need to create a free Microsoft account.

For the purpose of this session, you will learn how to establish your own Microsoft account as well as how to browse the different online services that Microsoft offers. In addition to that, you will learn how to personalize your profile page.A free Microsoft account is required in order to access Vices.

how to make a microsoft account

To establish a Microsoft account, you must:

Visit the website, login.live.com. Find and pick the option to sign up now.

After that, the sign-up form will show up. You will need to provide the relevant information, which includes your name, birth date, and gender, so make sure you follow the instructions.

Click the Create account button when you have finished reading the Microsoft Services Agreement and the privacy statement.

Your Microsoft account has been successfully established, and the setup page for your account will now be shown.

In the same way that it is essential to choose a secure password for any online service, it is also essential to select a password that is tough for another person to figure out. Learn more about this topic by reading our lesson on how to create a password.

Beginning the process

Once you have created a Microsoft account, you will be brought to the page where you can configure your Microsoft account settings. Accessing your profile page is the initial step in making use of the tools and services that are associated with your Microsoft account. Some examples of these are OneDrive and Messenger.

To reach the page for your profile:

Find and choose the profile icon that is located in the upper-right corner of the screen, and then in the drop-down menu that appears, pick Edit profile.

After that, the profile page will show up. You will be able to access the toolbar, which will assist you in navigating the online services provided by Microsoft, from this location.

With the toolbar, you can:

It is possible to access a selection of Microsoft services by clicking the arrow in the top-left corner of the screen. These services include Mail (either Outlook or Hotmail), People (contacts), Calendar, and OneDrive (which was formerly known as SkyDrive). To get started, all you need to do is click on the service that you wish to utilize.

You can access Messenger, your profile settings, and the Gear icon, which allows you to modify specific settings for each Microsoft service, by clicking on the icons located in the top-right corner of the computer screen.

How much security do you need?

Baseline: The baseline level of security, which consists of stages 1 through 3, is entirely appropriate for the majority of casual users of Microsoft services. This is particularly true for users who do not utilize their Microsoft email address as the main criteria for logging in to other websites. The use of these alternatives will be of great assistance to you if you are assisting a friend or family member who is not very knowledgeable about technology and is terrified by passwords.

To begin, you will need to generate a robust password for your Microsoft account, one that is not used by any other account associated with Microsoft. The next step is to enable two-step verification, which is Microsoft’s name for multi-factor authentication. This will protect you against phishing and other types of password theft. If you choose to enable that option, you will be required to provide extra confirmation of your identity whenever you sign in for the first time on a new device or if you carry out a high-risk action, such as changing your password or adding a credit card to your account. The extra verification often takes the form of a code that is sent by email to a registered alternative account or via text message to a trusted device for the purpose of sending an SMS text message.

Last but not least, you will be able to store a recovery code that will enable you to access your account in the event that you forget that password and do not have access to any other authentication alternatives.

Better: In spite of the fact that these fundamental safety measures are sufficient, you may greatly increase the level of security by performing the activities described in steps 4 and 5.

First things first, you will need to download the Microsoft Authenticator app onto your mobile device (it is compatible with both iPhones and Android smartphones) and configure it to function as a sign-in and verification option. Subsequently, as a secondary means of verifying your identity, you should provide a secure email address.

Maximum: The last two stages provide the highest level of security possible. These steps include the addition of at least one actual hardware key in addition to the Microsoft Authenticator software, and then the removal of SMS text messages as a backup verification mechanism. With such an arrangement, you will still be able to use your mobile phone as an authentication factor, but a potential attacker will not be able to break into your account by intercepting text messages or by taking control of your mobile phone account.

This design creates considerable obstacles that even the most determined attacker will have to overcome in order to breach the system. In spite of the fact that it requires an additional financial investment in hardware and unquestionably adds some unnecessary complexity to the sign-in procedure, it is by far the most efficient method of protecting your Microsoft account.

Listed below is the procedure for securing your Microsoft account

Creating a new, secure password is the first step.

To begin with, the most important thing is that you need to have a robust and one-of-a-kind password for your Microsoft account. It is recommended by security experts that you make your password longer, despite the fact that Microsoft demands a minimum password length of eight characters. Twelve to sixteen characters is a reasonable length, and you may use any random mix of capital and lowercase letters, numerals, and special characters whenever you choose. Additionally, you have the option of using a passphrase that is composed of four or more words that have been chosen at random and are separated by a special character, such as a hyphen.

Make use of the facilities provided by your password manager in order to create a brand-new, random password or passphrase. This is the most effective method for ensuring that you have successfully met this criteria. What about a password manager? Consider using a password generator that is available online, such as the 1Password Strong Password Generator or the Bitwarden Password Generator.

When you generate a new password, you not only ensure that your account credentials are not shared with any other account, but you also ensure that a previous password that you may have accidentally reused is not included in a password breach.

Simply go to the Microsoft Account Security Basics page, which can be found at https://account.microsoft.com/security/, in order to change your password. First, if you are required to sign in, click the Change Password button. However, you should not click the option that specifies that you must update your password every three months. This is something that will undoubtedly irritate you, and it will not significantly improve the safety of your account.

In order to save the new password using your password manager, you will need to follow these steps. In the event that you want to have a physical backup, you are allowed to write it down. It is imperative that you keep the document in a safe and secure area, such as a locked file drawer or a safe.

Second, activate the two-step verification process.

The page for the security of your Microsoft account should not be left just yet. Simply scroll up until you reach the section labeled “Two-Step Verification” (which is located under the title “Additional Security”) and check to see that this option is on.

In order to verify that you are able to receive verification messages, the procedure for setting up the system consists of a rather simple wizard. If you are using a contemporary smartphone that is running an up-to-date version of either iOS or Android, you may safely disregard the alerts that ask you to generate an app password for the mail client on those phones.

The third step is to generate a recovery code and store it in a secure location.

It is necessary to store a recovery code as the next step. The fact that you have access to this code will prevent you from being permanently locked out of your account in the event that you ever find yourself unable to login to your account because you have forgotten the password.

During the process of setting up two-step verification, which you completed in the step before this one, you will be prompted to generate a recovery code automatically. It will be necessary for you to generate a new code if you did not keep a copy of the previous one. Get started by navigating to the Advanced Security Options section of the Microsoft Account Security Basics page and clicking on the Get Started button. This will send you to the Microsoft Account Security page, which is not the most fundamental. ()To get there immediately, you should bookmark this.

Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page and search for the area that says “Recovery Code.” To see a dialog box similar to the one that is shown above, click the Generate a New Code button.

You should make a copy of that recovery code and store it in the same secure location, such as a locked file cabinet or safe, where you have stored your password. According to Microsoft, you are only permitted to produce a single code for a Microsoft account at any one moment. When a new code is generated, the previous code fails to function properly.

With that, let’s move on to some more sophisticated security solutions.

Fourth, install the Microsoft Authenticator software on your device.

I strongly urge any service that allows them to make use of smartphone applications that produce time-based one-time password algorithm (TOTP) codes. These codes are becoming an increasingly popular type of multi-factor authentication. Take a look at the article titled “Protect yourself: How to Pick the Correct Two-Factor Authenticator App” for more information on these choices.

Microsoft Authenticator is the authenticator software that I suggest using with your Microsoft account, even if you use another authenticator app for the majority of the services you use. According to this setup, a push notification will be sent to your smartphone whenever you try to sign in, and the verification process is required. Please grant the request, and you will be finished.

One additional advantage is that the Microsoft Authenticator app may be used for verification purposes in addition to being used for passwordless sign-in.

You will need to go to the advanced Microsoft Account Security page and click on the Add A New Way To Sign In Or Verify button in order to configure Microsoft Authenticator with a Microsoft account. When you have finished downloading the Microsoft Authenticator app, choose the option to use an app, and then sign in using the credentials associated with your account.

The fifth step is to include a secure email address as a verification method.

There should be at least two different methods of verification accessible to you in addition to your password, according to Microsoft’s recommendation. In the event that you need a password reset due to the activation of two-step verification, you will be required to provide both of these pieces of identity. Failure to do so may result in your account being permanently locked out.

It is fine to use a free email address, such as a Gmail account, if your security requirements are not very stringent, but a corporate email address that is protected by a professional IT team is unquestionably the superior option. You have the option of having a verification code sent to that email address if it becomes required.

To add a new method of signing in or verifying your account, go to the advanced Microsoft Account Security page and check the box.

In order to validate that particular verification choice, you must first choose the Email A Code option, then enter your email address, and lastly input the code that you get.

Step 6: Eliminate the use of text messages sent via SMS as a verification method

If you have reached this step, you should have more than enough safe methods at your disposal to identify yourself and verify your identity. In light of this, it is time to eliminate the weakest link in the chain, which is the text messages sent by SMS.

The seventh step is to authenticate yourself by using a hardware security key.

Within all of the steps, this one is the most sophisticated. In order to get the maximum possible degree of security, it is necessary to make an investment in additional hardware; nevertheless, the necessity to put a device into a USB port or to initiate a connection via Bluetooth or NFC is absolutely necessary.

Please refer to the article titled “YubiKey hands-on: Hardware-based two-factor authentication is more secure, but watch out for these gotchas” for an overview of how this sort of hardware works.

In order to setup a hardware key, go to the advanced Microsoft Account Security page and click on the Add A New Way To Sign In Or Verify button provided there. Take the option to Use A Security Key, and then proceed to follow the on-screen instructions. To activate your hardware key, you will first need to input the personal identification number (PIN) for it, and then you will need to touch it. Once the configuration is finished, you will have a powerful method to sign in to any service that is powered by your Microsoft account without having to worry about entering passwords.

The majority of individuals do not need this degree of sophisticated security, as I said at the beginning of this post. If, on the other hand, your OneDrive account contains important documents such as tax returns and bank statements, you will want to secure it as well as you possibly can.

Step 1: Select “Settings” from the menu that appears after clicking the “Start” button (or Windows) or by clicking the picture of a cog.
Select “Personalization” from the drop-down menu.
Step 3: Locate the “Start” button in the sidebar, click, and choose it.
Step 4: Make sure that the toggle box that says “Show recommendations sometimes in Start” is set to the inactive position.

HOW TO BLOCK ADS IN FILE EXPLORER ON WINDOWS 10

To begin, choose “Documents” from the menu that appears after clicking the “Start” button (or Windows) or by clicking the picture of a document.
To go to the next step, open the File Explorer window and then choose the “View” tab located at the very top of the window.
The third step is to locate the “Options” button on the ribbon below and then click on it.
Step four: In the window that displays the Folder Options, choose the “View” option.
In the fifth step, go through the “Advanced Settings” menu until you see the option to “Show sync provider alerts.”
The sixth step is to remove this checkmark from the box, then click “Apply” to make the changes, and then click “OK” to leave the Folder Options window.

HOW TO BLOCK ADS IN SETTINGS ON WINDOWS 10

Step 1: Select “Settings” from the menu that appears after clicking the “Start” button (or Windows) or by clicking the picture of a cog.
Step 2: At this point, choose “Privacy.”
Third and last step: make sure that the toggle box that says “Show me recommended content in the Settings app” is set to the “Off” position.

To prevent Windows applications from monitoring your activities, you may choose to turn off the toggle box that says “Let apps utilize advertising ID to make ads more appealing to you depending on your app activity (turning this off will reset your ID).”

HOW TO BLOCK ADS FROM NOTIFICATIONS ON WINDOWS 10

Step 1: Select “Settings” from the menu that appears after clicking the “Start” button (or Windows) or by clicking the picture of a cog.

Second, choose “System” from the menu.

The next step is to locate the sidebar and then click on the “Notifications & Actions” selection.

Remove the checkmark from the box that says, “Show me the Windows welcome experience after updates and periodically when I sign in to emphasize what’s new and recommended.” Step 4: Deactivate the Windows welcome experience.

Proceed to step five and remove the checkmark from the box that says, “Suggest ways I can complete setting up my device to get the most out of Windows.”

In the sixth and last step, remove the checkmark from the box that says “Get tips, techniques, and ideas while you use Windows.”

Before we part ways, may I provide a brief defense of Windows 11?

Windows 11, despite its problems, is not nearly the comic book monster that it is made out to be. This is despite the fact that Microsoft’s persistent efforts to get customers to update to its most recent operating system are not exactly gaining the company any love.

In spite of the fact that the platform first encountered a number of issues, a great deal of progress has been made since then. Additionally, there are a number of adjustments that will improve your Windows experience, as well as a number of things that you may disable to make the move less obnoxious. There are numerous significant enhancements that are now being considered.

It is possible that this solution will not prevent you from murmuring, “I never should have updated to Windows 11” at some point or another if you are not someone who enjoys change. For many people, this solution is nothing more than a string and sellotape solution. On the other hand, the operating system has undergone significant development since 2021, and there may be certain advantages to giving it another try in 2024 that you should consider.

The slowness with which Windows 11 is being adopted is an issue. Undoubtedly, not for you nor for me. Nevertheless, it is a significant problem for Microsoft. It’s possible that this is the reason why Windows 10 is so aggressive when it comes to advertisements. Especially considering that the firm intends to continue its efforts to populate the AI PC and bring artificial intelligence to the desktop, with a significant portion of both of these endeavors being tightly connected with the Windows 11 operating system.

The imminent end of support judgment day, which is scheduled to take place on October 14, 2025, is the most important concern that we face as Windows 10 holdouts. If, at that time, Windows 12 has not yet come from the skies, providing us with a desktop environment that is historically likely to be, at the very least, superior, then we will be compelled to admit defeat and give Microsoft the market share that it so desperately seeks.